Jornal de Biodiversidade e Espécies Ameaçadas

Chiffchaff belongs to the nominate race collybita and inhabits mainly deciduous or mixed woodlands. This study documents aspect of breeding biology of chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita in Chhajjian, Haripur. KPK, Pakistan. We investigated the parameters such as: (1) laying dates; (2) length of the breeding season; (3) nest site usage; (4) clutch size; (5) length of the nestling period; and (6) the relative importance of causes of nest failure. First clutches are laid in the second half of April, and early May, with second clutches in June. Nests are built close to the ground, usually in Bramble Bushes Average clutch size decreases from 6 to 4 eggs through the season. Incubation and nestling periods last 13-14 days. Nest losses are mainly due to predation, which accounted for approximately 60% of losses in both data sets from five different localities. This is the first-ever documentation on chiffchaff from Pakistan so it will help the further finding to researcher and also for the conservation of then.

Anthropogenic activities, coupled with climate change effects have led to biodiversity crisis and genetic erosion. The number of wildlife species being threatened and or endangered is on the increase. The Convention on International Trade on Endangered Fauna and Flora (CITES) has categorized these species under Appendices I, II, III, reflecting their level of endangerment as well as the protection level accorded each taxonomic group. DNA barcoding has over time, been identified as a tool for authenticating the taxonomic information of species at all stages of life, telling apart cryptic species, fighting fraud, poaching and prosecution of violators of CITES and for general conservation purposes. The national survey carried out to up-date the CITES list of Nigeria’s endangered species revealed that some of the bird species such as the Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) and the grey parrot could hardly be found in the wild anymore. The International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2016, accorded the maximum level of protection to African Grey parrot, which was recently by upgrading it to CITES Appendix I). This study, therefore, targeted CITES-listed parrot species that are fast disappearing through poaching and illegal trading belonging to the order-Psittaciformes and of genera-Psittacula, Poicephalus and Psittacus held in captivity in the orphanage of the National Parks Service Abuja, Nigeria. The aim of this initial project was to populate the GenBank with sequence libraries from bird species from this biogeographic region. Live birds were sampled and a set of primers-COI F and COI R tested were found effective in the amplification of the DNA of the samples. The primers were successfully used to amplify and sequence the genomic DNA, which sequences were deposited in the GenBank with their accession numbers obtained and published.

This paper first analyzed the current situations of, and then discussed the relationship between China’s and India’s oil imports. The diversification levels of the two countries’ oil imports are both changing in order to secure their own overseas oil supply, resulting in expanding overlap between their oil import sources. The regions that make major contributions to oil imports of both China and India are the Middle East, South, and Central America and West Africa. As the similarities of the oil import source distributions of the two countries rise gradually, the Sino-India Competition Index (CI) in the oil market presents a fast growth, from 8.61 in 2006 to 22.49 in 2016. Since further growth of China’s and India’s oil imports are highly expected, stable oil supply serves the interests of both the countries. China and India mostly import crude oil from regions in complicated geopolitical environments, thus they can work collaboratively to help maintain the political stability of such oil-exporting countries, for the sake of their own oil security. Cooperation can not only avoid the “resource premium” derived from buyers’ competition but also strengthen the two countries’ friendship and create a win-win situation.

The Munessa-Shashemene forest is one of the dry Afromontane forests and is dominated by ecologically and economically important tree species that are being degraded at an alarming rate. Therefore, research on the structural status of preferable indigenous tree species is essential for providing information that can be used in the implementation of sustainable forest management. Different timber-based forest products and species-specific removal impact the ability of the forest to maintain functions valuable to both biology and humanity, including the future provision of forest products and services. The objectives of this study were to identify economically important indigenous tree species and to analyze their ecological performances. In 33 plots with areas of 30 m × 30 m each, all woody species, the number of stumps, the Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) of all woody species greater than 2.3 cm and their height were recorded. Tree prioritization was analyzed using matrix ranking procedures and some ecological variables (importance value index, Shannon Wiener’s diversity index, stand density indexand basal area ha^-1) were computed. A Multiple linear regression model was used to investigate the impact of the economic preference of tree species and other ecological variables on stem density ha^-1. The results revealed that Myrsineme lanophloeos, Haginea abysinica, Juniperus procera, Podocurpus falcatus and Maytenus arbutifolia were the top five economically important tree species. The Economic preference of tree species has a statistically significant (p<0.05) negative impact on the stem density ha^-1 of that species. At the Beseku site, a DBH class distribution of Myrsine melanophloeos repealed distinct inverted J-shape curves, which indicates good regeneration status. However, the DBH class distribution at the Heben and Shopha sites exhibit an interrupted Gauss type curve. The stand density ha^-1, relative density, relative frequency, and importance value index of economically prioritized tree species varied between three studied forest sites and their structural distribution were significantly different from those of inferior tree species.